...and I called the last idiot (the dumbest President in history), Dubya. You see I have it in for drunken, grey-haired Texans and I am therefore prejudiced. Come on guys WTF is wrong with us, Romney is no better. Sam, so we are back to the old "he laughs at himself" so I am going to ignore all his points of view. Blue book, page 3 - ridicule. When will you address the issues presented to you honestly and openly? Fixations are tough, as for me I am fighting photos of Cindy Crawford but I am working on it. Have you noticed the lefties all present themselves as intellectuals....... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... there I go again.

franco b wrote:We are all racists and we are all not racists because what we are talking about is only an aspect of human behavior called the enmity amity complex.

We feel amity towards members of our own group and hostility towards those not of our group. This was fixed in our behavioral genes many thousands of years ago as a means of bettering our chances of survival. Outsiders bring discord and possibly disease and tend to destroy the cohesiveness of the group or tribe. Studies of animal societies where it very much exists as well as primitive human and modern societies have proven this.

This behavior is a good thing, and in addition to our survival in the past it is what has fostered pride in a community, the social pressure to conform to acceptable behavior by its members, and also competition with neighboring communities to better themselves. It's our town. Our neighborhood. Our school. Our team. Our country. Always the feeling that it is ours and better than what others do or have and stay the hell out. Often it is true.

The bad part is that it excludes groups that might very well fit in and benefit the whole; Irishmen,Jews, blacks. The behavior is not going to change; what can change is the perception towards the excluded group. Maybe they really are "one of us". Education and familiarity with the excluded group as well as opportunity for members of that group to distinguish themselves all work to gradually dissipate feelings of hostility. When you read G. B. Shaw and Oscar Wilde then maybe Irish men are not so dumb. Read the autobiography of Frederick Douglas and it is impossible not to like the man as a person. Washington Carver is rightly called the savior of Southern agriculture. Interviews with black athletes reveal that most are not the step and fetchit of caricature.

Understanding human nature and working with it is the only way socially desirable goals can be achieved. The absolutely wrong way is programs like school busing that only destroy successful communities and create more hostility as well as foster crime and destroy the very things that made the community desirable. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

The problem is that politicians have no education in the science of man. Once in a great while we have a Jefferson or Franklin who seem to have an intuitive understanding of man and his nature. The spiritual trust neither emotion nor logic believing both are flawed through incomplete knowledge.

Yes, I have been aware of this Human trait for years and been the target of it for years also. I have called it the, "Herd Mentality." You notice it in children after they begin to associate outside of the family unit. Have you ever noticed that little children are excited about everything and interested in everything? By the time they are approaching adolescence this grows less and less as they become institutionalized. They have to fit in and be, "cool," like the rest of their peers. I find this process quite sad. Those that resist or don't bend to the mass will are picked on and shunned. I know this well. This behavior carries on into adulthood as the average person loses much of his ability to define himself as himself and not be a reflection of what society wants him to be. He looks at others to find his own self definition. In my view all of the great men of history have escaped this process in a large part and these are the ones who have and will move Human Kind forward.

wsherrick wrote:Yes, I have been aware of this Human trait for years and been the target of it for years also. I have called it the, "Herd Mentality." You notice it in children after they begin to associate outside of the family unit. Have you ever noticed that little children are excited about everything and interested in everything? By the time they are approaching adolescence this grows less and less as they become institutionalized. They have to fit in and be, "cool," like the rest of their peers. I find this process quite sad. Those that resist or don't bend to the mass will are picked on and shunned. I know this well. This behavior carries on into adulthood as the average person loses much of his ability to define himself as himself and not be a reflection of what society wants him to be. He looks at others to find his own self definition. In my view all of the great men of history have escaped this process in a large part and these are the ones who have and will move Human Kind forward.

Beautifully put and true. All that reflection in front of your great stove is paying dividends. Looking at things through a fog of emotionalism can only lead to bad decisions. The Soviet Union tried for over 50 years to change the nature of man and failed. It would be better to understand man than Mars. Praise God from whom all blessings flow is the motto of those given that task only god in this endeavor is the Government and the current ideology.

What a lot of honest, serious, intelligent talk that has been mixed in with the noticable animosity.Any racism that I allow in myself is honestly based in fear. I hope to be able to be a better man. It's not easy in hectic crowded, diverse NJ. I was out and about today and saw all kinds of races. I was not impolite to anyone, except the illegal lady who cut me off on Rte 22, I flipped her the bird I would have flipped anybody the bird except any larger burly dudes So it takes composure and being centered in yourself to get through a day without putting out bad vibes.On the rare occaisions when I go to NYC, my racism dissolves inthe immense overwhelming magnificence of the city. There is an exitement and kind of underlying commaraderie there, it's like everybody is feeling like a cool cat to be there. But I'm usually glad to get back to the burbs. I have a neice that lives on the upper east side, I don't know how she does it. she commutes on a train and works for The City of New York.So thanks for helping me consider a lot of ideas rather than just remain stagnant in repetitive thinking. Franco B's post about adapting to change hit a nerve. I desperately want the USA to be like it used to be. That's probably not gonna happen, and I may have to move much farther away from NYC to find the peace I desire. If I don't relish so much diversity, I have to take responsibility for making a change, which in itself seems overwhelming. I think Christianity is one of the hardest religions to embrace. Jesus said something like, "However you treat even the biggest dirtbag, that's how you're treating me." Man , is that a tough one!I got more work lined up for next week today. I got a deal on a couple of small tools to fix up. Can't complain.

Dann757 wrote:What a lot of honest, serious, intelligent talk that has been mixed in with the noticable animosity.Any racism that I allow in myself is honestly based in fear. I hope to be able to be a better man. It's not easy in hectic crowded, diverse NJ. I was out and about today and saw all kinds of races. I was not impolite to anyone, except the illegal lady who cut me off on Rte 22, I flipped her the bird I would have flipped anybody the bird except any larger burly dudes So it takes composure and being centered in yourself to get through a day without putting out bad vibes.On the rare occaisions when I go to NYC, my racism dissolves inthe immense overwhelming magnificence of the city. There is an exitement and kind of underlying commaraderie there, it's like everybody is feeling like a cool cat to be there. But I'm usually glad to get back to the burbs. I have a neice that lives on the upper east side, I don't know how she does it. she commutes on a train and works for The City of New York.So thanks for helping me consider a lot of ideas rather than just remain stagnant in repetitive thinking. Franco B's post about adapting to change hit a nerve. I desperately want the USA to be like it used to be. That's probably not gonna happen, and I may have to move much farther away from NYC to find the peace I desire. If I don't relish so much diversity, I have to take responsibility for making a change, which in itself seems overwhelming. I think Christianity is one of the hardest religions to embrace. Jesus said something like, "However you treat even the biggest dirtbag, that's how you're treating me." Man , is that a tough one!I got more work lined up for next week today. I got a deal on a couple of small tools to fix up. Can't complain.

some of the biggest dirtbags and the ones to fear most are the power hungry liars in politics, both parties. same way you would CAREFULLY size up a potential threat in public, voters need to CAREFULLY listen to the facts, and recognize the un truths that will hurt you,, being spouted in washington.

homecomfort wrote:some of the biggest dirtbags and the ones to fear most are the power hungry liars in politics, both parties. same way you would CAREFULLY size up a potential threat in public, voters need to CAREFULLY listen to the facts, and recognize the un truths that will hurt you,, being spouted in washington.

Are you attempting to use moral equivalency to diminish the actions of the left? Understand, when you post a lot of posts that are very biased to your side, the left; I'll typically have an anger reaction. That's because I "carefully" absorb a lot of information that to me is proof that the current administration is a disastrous one. I believe Obama is using full blown Chicago politics, racism, sexism, class warfare, to divide and conquer. I believe he diminishes this country severely and we need to replace him with responsible people that love America and are aware of the need to address the crushing debt, the borders, and runaway entitlements.

Without economic growth it's impossible to not go deeper into debt everyday, IMO first & foremost he should get us out of those wars. Besides costing billions every time we turn around the last ten days or so have been terrible for lives lost, the idiots in DC should know that nothing is gonna change, let the U.S. Co.s know they have 90 days & then the Armed Forces including Gov. paid mercenaries are gonna be out of there. Just like in Syria & all the others that have already changed, it's their country let them go whichever way they want it's none of our business puppet Gov. had never worked well because they are set up with someone else's wishes in mind. We seem to want them to be free but free to do as we want not what they want. Everyday you can find disasters right here in the U.S. roads, bridges, dams, utilities need installed or up dated but we go on modernizing someplace that we never should have been in the first place.

Mubarak kept a lid on Egypt for a long time. Now look at it; it's run by radical Islam.

Sam, there's a billion muslims that want only one thing; destroy western civilisation and install a worldwide Caliphate with Sharia Law. Should we abandon Israel too? I don't forget this, I saw 9/11 with my own eyes.

Dann, WTF business is it of ours? Read between the lines, we are sticking our nose in the Mid-East for oil & nothing else, we can still help Israel. What about Russia, N. Korea many of the African countries, some Asian & some S. American including Mexico, they all violate citizen rights on a daily basis, did it ever occur to you that if & when we get our nose out of their butts they may not be so hostile towards us? We have ripped off & meddled in just about every bodies affairs, what are we the Utopian society & everyone should be just like us whether they want to or not?All I said was instead of spending more on these useless wars we should spend it here putting American Co.s & workers to work & contributing to our economy instead of someone else's & make the work for American based industry that will keep their money here instead of some conveniently legal tax sheltered country you ever think that if those loop holes were gone it would level the playing field for smaller businesses & then all their tax rates could be lowered & the amt. collected overall would still be the same or more? It's the same with you & I & everyone else that pays their taxes honestly, our % goes up to make up for what is hidden.

That's the problem; we just can't afford to keep doing what we have been doing both at home and around the world. If it is to continue it has to be a lot cleverer and a lot less costly.

There is also the argument that if we minded our own business we would not have so many enemies.

Energy independence would go a long way toward solving problems.

Government social programs, or is it pogroms, have evolved into weapons of mass destruction.

Religions are faith based, political ideologies should not be. Wishful thinking is fine because it makes people feel better, but eventually we have to live on the earth and not in the clouds.

A farmer has to consider the land he has and the local climate before deciding what crop to plant; what plant will thrive best according to its nature. The political climate of man is no different and must conform to his unique nature to thrive.